American Notes Air Traffic

When a small plane strayed into restricted airspace over Los Angeles Airport and slammed into an Aeromexico jetliner last August, killing more than 80 people, the Federal Aviation Administration decided to make the skies less friendly for private-plane operators. Last week the FAA issued recommendations that include a minimum 60-day license suspension for any pilot violating the boundaries of the terminal control area above the nation's 23 busiest airports.

Private aircraft entering the TCAs must be equipped with transponders that automatically report altitude to the control tower; only about half of all private planes are currently outfitted with such devices. Edmund Pinto, senior vice president of the 260,000-member Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, said that "the whole system won't work unless the control system is modernized." Currently, a $12 billion plan to upgrade the nation's air- traffic operations is two years behind schedule.